Area women ready to fight when freedom calls

Saturday

Jan 26, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Katie Fiegenbaum kfiegenbaum@fosters.com

DOVER — Area residents have mixed opinions on the Pentagon’s decision to allow women in combat roles, while those in the N.H. National Guard think the announcement reflects the current atmosphere in their ranks.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced on Thursday he would overturn the 1994 rule. This would open up hundreds of thousands of front-line jobs for women as well as combat leadership positions.

Members of the American Legion had mixed feelings on whether women should be able to serve.

“I just can’t see a woman in hand-to-hand combat!” George Foye of Eliot, Maine said. “Especially not getting captured. Women aren’t made for combat.”

However, Skip Bailey of Dover disagreed.

“I see nothing wrong with it,” Bailey said. “But if women sign up, they should know what they sign up for.”

Sgt. Audra Vigliotte of the 237th Military Police Company, part of the N.H. National Guard, has served for more than 15 years.

“My personal reaction is that it’s a fair and just situation,” she said. “As long as they have the physical capacity to meet the requirements, they are now able to do so.”

The decision is not immediately effective, as physical standards and gender-neutral accommodations must be examined. Each branch of the military must develop an implementation plan for the announcement and if it is believed a certain position must remain closed to women, an exception must be requested. The Pentagon is allowing until 2016 for final decisions.

Vigliotte believes the strength of the ban was fading even before the decision.

“We already have female officers conducting patrols in Afghanistan and in other positions,” she said. “It’s a situation where we’ve already been doing this, but it takes administrative time to catch up.”

According to government data, 30 percent of women veterans from after 9/11 said they served in a combat or war zone, compared with 57 percent of male veterans, as reported by the Pew Research Center.

In November 2012, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban.

In the past, women were prohibited from being assigned to units whose primary mission was ground combat. However, many women were allowed in combat-related roles including serving on ships or flying combat aircraft.

Vigliotte’s colleagues also welcome the announcement.

“I work with a wide variety of soldiers of differing ages and gender, and we all have the same position on this,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m curious how women will be able to further contribute and strengthen the military.”

Michael Houst, a retired First Gulf War veteran from Barrington, has no problem allowing women in combat. He worked with many women in the military but warns that women must be physically and mentally prepared to serve.

“All the drive and determination in the world can’t compensate for lack of physical ability,” he said in an email.

Women currently comprise 14 percent of the 1.4 million people enrolled in active military duty, according to The Associated Press.

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